Nathaniel, Cierra, Castiel, Freya, Grrl; RIP GABRIEL

LOL. I think Lucky will be a gentle giant at the end of the day. I have never seen aggressive behavior from him except when he is startled, and then it is defensive looking rather than offensive looking.

Imp is getting big too. I can't believe that he has already joined the blackbeard brigade (LOL). Maybe someday I will have more than one . . . we will see. I need to get my husband working on Lucky's bigger cage, though. I told him that I want it finished before the new year (I am leaving a lot of time for paint drying and airing/gassing off, etc.).

The only thing I can tell you about DIY tanks is LOTS of ventilation, no matter what heat you use inside, without alot of ventilation, they get way too hot. So make sure you have a good temp gun to check temps daily. That's why I stayed with the 40 gallon glass tank, but he's going to be HUGE before he's done and will definitely need at least a 75 gallon for him. Unfortunately Imp is stuck in a 40 gallon tank, but he's out for 11 hours when I go to work, he loves being out on the ramp and has lots of room to run around. I have it so well partitioned off, he can't get into any trouble.

Imp started black bearding at 5 mo old LOL. At 6 mo old, before I knew he was even capable, he tried to mate with Cierra, it was so funny, this little dragon this big female holding her down by the ruff at the back of her neck and not even reaching the right parts. Now he's long enough to do the deed, so they're never left alone anymore, even though she's constantly trying to get to him & him to her. Oh well, that's life. I have a big chair that I put in between their tanks so they see less of each other.

Lucky is going to be huge, I'm betting about 24" long and over 800g at full growth at 2 years old, so we'll see how big he actually gets. That's how big my Rubio was. There isn't alot of gentle giant blood lines left, they all died out in the mid 70s from what I read. But there are still big dragons out there. The longest one I've ever heard of was Meatball, he was 26" long at full growth. So we'll see if Lucky reaches that length, it will be very exciting to see how big he actually gets. He's got too wide a face to have any GG in him, but that doesn't matter. He's beautiful! I just love his neon orange colours!

This is the brightest I've ever seen Imp, when he was outside.
But he's not like that when he's inside, only after bath or outside, not like Lucky!

I love Imp's light eye color. Pogo had, and Lucky has, very dark eyes (Lucky is trans so his dark eyes come with his genes). I don't know if Lucky's trans-ness and leatherback-ness makes his colors brighter because you can see them better? I didn't go out looking for a fancy dragon, but he is what they had available at the time and he was cute, so I took him. They told me that he was the biggest of his hatchmates, because they knew that I had issues with Pogo and wanted a strong, healthy dragon really badly regardless of what it looked like. He does have nice bright oranges and reds - and it is funny that he looks pink when he gets ready to shed. I should put up an outdoor picture of him - he gets darker outside - his browns go black and his oranges go really red/burgundy.

We have looked at a lot of DIY cages online and have seen all the ventilation. I will post on my thread later about the specs on the cage. Lucky weighted in today at 590g and 20.25". I will also post pics on my thread later. I figured that the maximum age he can be right now (since I wasn't given an exact hatch date, but an age of approx. 3.5 months when I got him at the beginning of Feb.), is 9.5 months. He isn't fat, though I do have one pic of him where he looks like a big fat, fatty - he runs around with his tail curled up and completely off the ground, and his belly completely off the ground and he is a great jumper. I don't think that he would be able to do that stuff if he was too fat.

Oh I agree 100%, he wouldn't be able to move much and he'd be very tired all the time. he's a good weight for his length and he's still growing, they don't stop until they're 2. He's beat Imp, who actually lost weight this week, he's still 19" but he went from 400g last Sunday to 389 today, so it's force feeding at least 12 worms every 2nd day going forward, he needs to gain, he's way too slim for his length. If I could get him to 500g by a year old, I'd be fine with that. I also might have found someone who needs to get rid of a bunch of roaches, so I'm really hoping that works out, then I'll have another bug to feed him. I'm not sure if he'd eat crickets anymore, but he refused them for over a month, so I'm feeling a bit fat NO. I wish I had the $ for hornworms, but they're $1.79 each up here and ordering from the States won't work because I can't pick them up from the post office during the week. So maybe as a treat at Christmas, we'll see. I don't want him to only want them if he likes them, then I'd be broke all the time :roll:

I knew Lucky would be bigger than Imp, he's the same size as Castiel, who will be 2 in September Castiel's weight was 602 this am, so he's finally gained back all the weight he lost during spring fever, so he's down to 2 worms a day, hopefully that means he'll eat more salad, but I'm not holding my breath, I'd turn blue :lol:

The others all have good weights. Nathaniel is at 500g & I don't want him to get fatter, he actually needs to lose a bit, so I'm not feeding him as many worms and more salad.

Cierra has her weight back +, so if she starts more eggs, she has the weight to lose...again....So she's been reduced in her worm intake, too.

Gabriel is holding steady, I've added a pinch of bee pollen with the butternut squash and tumeric and he's eating it all every morning. So I'm hoping within a couple of months, if he lasts that long...sigh...that the aneurysm might have shrunk, but it's all day by day with him.

And for me, I found a lump in my breast, see the doc on Monday to get an ultrasound/mammogram done, hoping it's just a cyst, as I've always gotten lots of those. Fingers crossed that's all it is. Plus I'm on prednisone for 5 days to get rid of the inflammation in my chest, hope that works, too.

Other than the heat wave that's shown up, it's all good so far!

I am sorry that Imp is being a finicky guy. I remember when I first came on here (almost exactly one year ago) and someone was talking about how their dragon would only eat SILKWORMS! Can you imagine?!? I haven't even been able to get my hands on any silkworms just to let him try them.

One of my dubia dropped her ootheca today - too early - it was really close, but they were not ready yet. I am hoping that they all don't decide to do that, because I ordered roaches recently and they came COOKED without many survivors. My post office has a problem with keeping things at the post office (even if they are told to - they still deliver it). I can't feed Lucky only superworms because some chitin shows up in his poop and I am afraid that it will cause issues eventually. When I give him a combo of medium roaches and supers, he does well on that. His eating is slowing down now. He can eat twice a day, but he will often only eat once a day even if I offer him bugs twice. I leave the salad in there - but no dice. He wouldn't eat blueberries (I tried those for the first time the other day).

I had a breast lump once and it turned out to be nothing - just funky tissue (and that was 8 years ago, so we would know by know if it was something else). I had mastitis a few times when I was nursing my babies, so who knows -maybe scar tissue from the infections. Always good to get that stuff checked out, though. Here we are supposed to get mammograms every year at my age (and I hate it, but I do it). Good luck!

I'm glad it turned out to be nothing after all. I get mammograms every year because my mom had cancer. They took the breast off (found it really early) and that was 15 years ago. She never had to have chemo or radiation treatments either. She recently decided that she didn't need mammograms anymore and being 80 years old, I told her it was her right. After 15 years I think it's pretty clear that it won't be coming back. I was supposed to go back a month ago for a follow up 6 mo ultrasound, so I think it was a cyst already forming, I've had tons of them over the years, they come and go, but this one is bigger than usual and isn't going. I've also had a lymph node grow inside my boob, honestly even the docs were stumped on that one for awhile :lol: So I'll see the doc tomorrow and then will get an ultra sound done to see what it's all about, maybe a biopsy, too, if they're not quite sure. I'll keep you posted.

I stayed home today until I went to pick up the 10 gallon tank, it's in perfect condition and cost only $15, considering up here they cost almost $40 brand new, it was a steal. So it's on the bookcase where it fits really well and I won't be using the top. Now to get what I need inside, get the bookcase anchored to the wall (the caretaker of our building said he'd do it when he had a minute) and within two weeks I'll have a leopard gecko.

Gabriel was pouty today, he wanted snuggles all day, so I did the best I could. He also got more ramp time this afternoon, so didn't go to sleep until quite late for him, 4p. It was nice to see him up that long, he's usually sleeping by noon. or dozing anyway. I felt the aneurysm, it's getting bigger or so it feels. So he's getting that tumeric, bee pollen, baby food mix every morning and I'm praying it has some effect on him.

Lucky it at the age when he won't be eating but once a day and eventually it'll be every 2nd day. Castiel is the only one eating daily right now and as he's hit 603g today, he's down to 2 worms a day. I wouldn't worry about super worms, all of mine eat them as their staple. If it's just the chiltin, that's normal. I get the ends of the tails in poops, too, it's perfectly normal and not an issue. It's hard to get other worms here and getting them shipped is an issue because I can't be home to accept the order. Having them delivered by mail isn't an option either, as the boxes are too big. Plus roaches are illegal to sell or buy in Canada, which is why it's all done underground and are called "special feeders" and then you PM the person who says they have some. I contact a guy and he said he'd check on how many he has & get back to me, told him no rush...hope to hear from him soon.

So about the roaches, did you get a refund from the company? I'm sorry your post office can't seem to get it right that you need to pick up the order so they don't bake to death in the summer heat. Or die from cold in the winter. You're not the only one this has happened to, either. Can you put in a huge complaint with a request for payment? Well, you can at least try, as it was their fault.

I think Lucky is a very lucky dragon to have you as a mom and have such a great family

Well alot has happened in the past week. My son Eric left his wife Tara (mutual agreement) and moved in with me. It's been a week and I can already tell he's a bit more destressed than when he first shows up. The best thing is he's Eric again, he's not parroting Tara anymore and when she tries to fight, he just leaves and comes back here. So they're getting this all sorted, $ wise as well, but he has a place to stay until he can afford his own place. This gives him time to sort out his life. He says he wishes now he'd never stayed with her, but then he tempers that with he couldn't see his life without his kids. I'm hoping that I'll see them soon. I talked to them both on the phone but better in person. I'm just glad Eric is getting his life together, it's going to be rough going forward, but he has my & my family's support. It's kind of nice to have someone here at night when I get home, he's on early shift so we hardly see each other, which is a good thing. He has time alone before I get home, I have time in the morning to do all my dragon chores, feed the bugs, etc.

So updated on my babies:
Nathaniel is in full brumation, we'll see how long this time around. Was supposed to give him a bath today but somehow he got missed and went back into his tank, so he'll get his bath tomorrow instead.

Castiel is up all day but he's more and more in his hide at night, not sure if that means he's getting ready for brumation or not, he'll be 2 in September.

Cierra is also up all day but she's ready for bed at 4p every day, sometimes earlier. I have a feeling she's getting ready for brumation, but until she stops eating, she won't be sleeping.

Gabriel and I went to the vet on Saturday am, we think the aneurysm is leaking but is not bothering him at all, she thinks that's why his eyes are black. His walking is getting worse and worse but he still swims alot in his bath so getting some exercise. He can still get around, up and down on the ramp and I still get him outside for sunshine when I can. He's on borrowed time, but he's a very happy dragon, bright colours and beard all the time. I snuggle him as much as I can.

And Imp, he's still my best brat. I finally got him some roaches but will he eat them? No, only if they're running around, so I'll try him in the biggest critter keeper, see if he'll chase them like he did the crickets. Will try that in the am. At least I have a good supplier now who delivers for $10, can't beat that. He was 406g today, so at least he's keeping over 400g. He's so wiggly when I try to feed him bugs, though, I'll be glad when he's eating again on his own.

So here are some pictures: I did a photo shoot of Gabriel and finally got a good pictures of his beautiful beard:

Cierra is so pretty

Castiel is still my GQ beardie, he always looks put together

Got Nathaniel up for his bath but he went back into his hide, he's too fast for me LOL

And last but not least, Imp:
watching TV, so intent
Then a show that he didn't like, turned right around :lol:
Talk to the hand!
In the bath, looking all handsome

I removed his regular basking platform, and put a lower one in, because he's starting to jump and try to get out of his tank :shock: He was not amused, but he'll have to get used to it

Tara sent Eric pics of the kids, so here are Leo and Safara, they're growing so fast. If all goes well, I get to babysit them on Monday, on my day off

Eric is handling not being with them all the time, very well. Long phone calls at night before bed, sees them a couple of times during the week after work, then most of Sunday and some of Saturday. I'm very proud of how he got himself away from Tara but is handling his family so well. He's really grown up in so many ways and loves his kids.

I loved all of the beardies' photos! Please give Gabriel a (gentle) hug for me, and tell him that he's a very brave boy.

So glad to hear that things are working out with Eric.

Hi Gina, so Bella has also moved in and she guards the dragons when they're on the ramp and outside. So Castiel was out when Bella came over to investigate him, he actually bearded her and didn't want her near, so she sat in the sun across from him and kept an eye on him. Didn't try to get close to him at all, either. She also watched Imp, who was outside in sunshine/shade for 2 hours and I think he would have stayed outside all day but I have to go to work, so that wouldn't work.

I take her out for a pee break at 9:45a, that way I can still get home & get ready for work. I found out the bus I take is every 15 minutes, so I get the 10:45 now. And the stop is 3 minutes away! So that worked out great today. Bella met Shane our caretaker and July our retired resident gardener. She helps with landscaping, she recently put large pebbles on the common outdoor property and put a barrel with flowers in the middle of the pebbles, looks really good.

Then we met young kids, I think the girl was, the middle boy was 3 and the youngest was just a year, he was just starting to stand up and walk. So Bella went over to them and stood within reach and allowed all 3, even the baby, to pet her. It was great, she sure enjoyed herself. She must miss Leo and Safara alot, but she's with Daddy and she's always been a Daddy's girl. I just love my grandpuppy :love5:

So I'm down to 3 beardies, Nathaniel & Cierra are brumating already, just like last winter. They're up for baths on Sunday and then warm up & back to sleep for another week. I was going to try hydrating them with drops of water, but I did that with Rubio and he got really badly dehydrated, so I'm going to stick with the weekly baths and see how they do. Maybe I'll try the water drops by syringe next weekend, see if it makes a difference.

I took Bunny out last night and then took pictures (without flash) of her trying to escape from both ends of the kitchen. I'll post them tomorrow or on the weekend when I have more time.

I love all the pics, lizards and grandkids! Good that things are working out for Eric now.

They are, so far, my grandkids are here until Monday night as I'm off on Monday. It's great to have them here, they can sure find lots of things to play with over here

Aw, fun! What do they think of the beardies?

So happy for you, Deb!

I've forgotten how much 2 little kids can get into. Spend all afternoon (Eric was out) taking them out to the courtyard, back into the house for water, back outside, back inside. They've decided they like all the cookbooks I've got on bookshelves and so played with them and the dragon toys all afternoon. Good thing he took his dog Bella to the vet, she'd been bitten by another dog in her snout, so that was all cleaned out, but she had an abcessed tooth that needed to come out, so she's not allowed to eat or drink until the morning, so she's wondering around, wondering why she can't have water, 4 hours she has to wait for water. Food tomorrow.

I love my grandkids, they sure are a handful but sooooo cute. Got lots of hugs today and smiles, it was wonderful, even though I feel like I've run a marathon :lol: I'll get used to them. :love5: